Gordon Grangerwas born of Gaius and Catherine Granger in Joy,
New York on 6 Nov. 1822. After graduating from West Point in 1845
(35th
out of 41), he fought in the Mexican War under Winfield Scott and
earned
two brevets. He then served on the frontier and promoted to first
lieutenant
in 1852. At the outbreak of the Civil War he was promoted to
captain
and fought at Wilson's Creek, Missouri in August 1861. Afterward he was
promoted
to colonel and in March 1862 to brigadier general. He commanded the
cavalry
in the campaign against New Madrid and Island No. 10, and in Halleck's
advance
on Corinth. In September 1862 he was appointed major general and held
independant
command in Kentucky for nearly a year. At
Chickamauga, Tennessee, in September
1863 he commanded the reserve corps, sometimes called the Army of
Kentucky,
under William S. Rosecrans. Granger's reinforcement of Thomas on
Snodgrass
Hill the afternoon
of 20 Sept. 1863 saved the Union forces from disaster. He
and his comander Steedman moved toward the sound of the
battle, while others, such as Sheridan,
moved away form it. Although he engaged in other battles around
Chattanooga, helped in the relief of Knoxville, and
took part in the capture of Mobile, his abrasive personality had got
him
on the wrong side of Grant who hindered Granger's further advancement.
He
is described as having been "outspoken and rough in manner, kindly and
sympathetic
at heart...[His] independence occasionally came near to
insubordination, and
at ordinary times he lacked energy." He is also reported to have been a
brutal
disciplinarian. He was another "difficult" person from whom Thomas was
able
to get good work, along with Hooker, Baldy Smith, and Jeff C. Davis.

Granger assumed command of the Department of Texas on 10 June
1865
under Sheridan, then commander of the Military Division of the
Southwest.
Upon his arrival in Galveston he declared that the institution of
slavery
was dead, setting off joyful displays by Texas freedmen. He instituted
a
punitive policicy against former Confederate officials and counseled
blacks
to remain on the plantations and to sign labor agreements with their
former
owners while awaiting further assistance from the Freedmen's Bureau
which
had not yet been established in the state. After six weeks of
apparently
upsetting too many apple carts, he was relieved of his command.

In 1869 Granger married Maria Letcher, daughter of a
Lexington,
Kentucky, physician. His most important assignment after leaving Texas
was
to command the District of New Mexico (1871-76). He resided in Santa Fe
until
his death, on 10 January 1876.